[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 78 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3179-S3180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO DAVID G. BAKERIAN

 Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I 
rise on behalf of the Delaware delegation to honor the service of David 
G. Bakerian upon his retirement as president, CEO and treasurer of the 
Delaware Bankers Association. David has dedicated the past 22 years of 
his life to helping lead the banking industry and keeping it alive and 
thriving in Delaware for the countless people it employs and serves.
  As president of the Delaware Bankers Association, David's priority 
has been to ensure that a significant part of America's banking 
industry--one of Delaware's top employers--maintained

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its home in in the First State and continues to thrive while serving 
customers in the First State and around the world. Tens of thousands of 
Delawareans rely on the good jobs that our State's financial services 
provide, jobs that have enhanced the lives of many. Dave is known for 
being honest, and even if someone didn't always like the answer, they 
respected him for doing the right thing, not what was easy or 
expedient. He also is admired for his positive, can-do attitude 
regardless of the magnitude of the challenges he and the members of the 
Delaware Bankers Association have faced over the years.
  Over more than two decades, David has worked with three Governors and 
testified before and advised 11 separate Delaware General Assemblies on 
a variety of banking legislative matters, including credit cards, trust 
administration, interstate banking and branching, foreclosure 
mediation, and consumer protection. In 2001, David led the Delaware 
Bankers Association in a cooperative venture with the University of 
Delaware's Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship, the 
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, and the Consumer Credit 
Counseling Services of Delaware and Maryland to form Keys to Financial 
Success, a high school credit course focusing on financial literacy. 
The program is still offered today in 28 high schools in Delaware with 
more than 4,200 students participating. In 2004, David was elected to a 
1-year chairmanship of the State Association Division of the American 
Bankers Association. In this role, he became the national spokesperson 
for the 50 State bankers associations and held a seat on the American 
Bankers Association board of directors. He is the only Delawarean ever 
to serve in this national leadership role. His service in that role is 
a source of pride to our State.
  While David is passionate about banking, he actually began his career 
in education and studied to become a college professor. He possesses a 
remarkable ability to write clearly and communicate effectively. Those 
skills have helped him go on to such a successful career in banking, in 
part because of his ability to explain highly complex issues to almost 
anyone and everyone. His passion for education can be seen in his own 
academic achievements. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Siena 
College in New York, he went on to receive a master's degree from the 
University of West Florida and a postgraduate certificate in higher 
education administration from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to 
his appointment at the Delaware Bankers Association, he served as 
executive director of the Delaware Chapter of the American Institute of 
Banking. He began his tenure at Delaware AIB in 1985 and oversaw the 
educational unit.
  Through his tireless efforts, David Bakerian has made a positive 
difference in not only the banking community but the education 
community and the community writ large. I am delighted to salute David 
and thank him for his many years of service to Delaware and to 
congratulate him on a truly remarkable and distinguished career. I know 
he looks forward to spending more time with his grandchildren in his 
garden and refining his culinary skills in the kitchen. In closing, on 
behalf of the people of Delaware, as well as on behalf of Senator Coons 
and Congressman Carney, I want to wish David and his wife Pam, his son 
Nick, and his daughters Alex and Catherine, along with his son-in-law 
Jeff and his grandchildren Adam and Madeline, the very best in all that 
lies ahead.

                          ____________________